In the future, it is expected that homes will have several computing devices and other data-dependent appliances that will need to be interconnected or networked together. These "computing resources" will be configured to exchange information with one another in the form of data that is transmitted over one or more communications resources within the home environment. To allow for such networking within the home environment, cost effective communication resources need to be developed.
Baseband Ethernet technology is currently being employed in many business environments to provide similar networking capabilities between current computing resources. For example, a baseband Ethernet technology known as 10 BASE-T Ethernet is becoming common because it provides a fairly high data rate and utilizes twisted pair wires, similar to those used for telephones, rather than coaxial cables to interconnect the computing resources.
The electrical and operational configuration of a 10 BASE-T network is specified by the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 standard. A 10 BASE-T network provides a 10 megabit per second (Mbps) data channel between computing resources. In accordance with the IEEE 802.3 standard, a Carrier Sense, Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) protocol is employed to allow the computing resources to utilize the shared communications resource, in this case two twisted pair wires (i.e., one twisted pair for transmitting and one twisted pair for receiving).
A 10 BASE-T network employs conventional baseband transmission techniques, and as such does not require a carrier signal or additional modulation. The data in the 10 Mbps channel is, however, Manchester encoded prior to transmission through the twisted pair wire to embed timing information within the transmitted data signal. Thus, each of the computing resources typically includes a network interface circuit or card (NIC) that provides the necessary Manchester encoding and decoding capability.
As a result of the Manchester encoding, however, the actual data transmission rate associated with the 10 Mbps channel is essentially doubled to 20 Mbps. Therefore, it is necessary that the communication media or resource (e.g., twisted pair wire) be capable of providing at least 20 Mbps bandwidth to effectively carry the Manchester encoded data. The traditional twisted pair wiring that is installed in most homes for use with the telephone is not shielded and/or designed to carry 20 Mbps of digital data, and as such typically cannot provide this needed bandwidth. Thus, bringing 10 BASE-T networking to a home environment usually requires an investment in new, higher-bandwidth rated, twisted pair wiring (e.g., shielded). For many homeowners this cost will be prohibitive. Additionally, many homes have only one twisted pair wire installed, rather than the required two twisted pair wires.
Some other proposed solutions for home networking include standard modem technology and digital subscriber line (xDSL) technology. These technologies are directed towards providing external connectivity through existing telephone and related data communication services, as well as potentially providing limited internal home networking. One of the problems associated with standard modem technology, however, is that it is currently limited to data speeds of about 56 kbps and often requires very complicated circuitry. Although, XDSL technology can transmit data at a much higher rate than standard modem technology, for example, up to about 4 Mbps, the cost of implementing such is very high and typically requires very complicated modulation methods.
There are technologies and products that are directed more towards home networking. For example, Tut Systems Inc., of Pleasant Hill, Calif., produces a HR1300T communication device. The HR1300T uses a "time modulation line code" to provide an in-home network over existing phone lines. However, this modulation scheme currently only provides about a 1 to 2 Mbps data rate.
Therefore, as can be appreciated, there is a need to provide improved methods and arrangements that allow standard home wiring, or other inexpensive or existing communication media, to be used as a communication resource between computing resources that are pre-configured or subsequently configured to connect to a network, such as, for example, an Ethernet network. Preferably, the methods and arrangements not only provide the necessary bandwidth, but are also cost effective, essentially transparent to the user/computing resource, and simple to implement.